COCHISE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT St. David Area Plan The St. David Area Plan consists of the Vision Statement, the Policies and a Land Use Map. The Land Use Map identifies the boundaries of the Plan Area and the sub-area land use designations within the Plan. The predominant land use designation is the Rural Residential (RR) area, with a Growth Category “D” designation. The St. David “core area”, located along Highway 80 from about Mile Post 299 to Mile Post 302, is designated Neighborhood Conservation (NC) with a “C” Growth Category designation. Two small Enterprise (ENT) areas located along Highway 80, one at Church Street and the other at “the bend” were eliminated and replaced with the C-NC designation. Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan land use designations do not change the underlying zoning district designations for any parcel lying within the Plan area. The underlying zoning remains until a property owner seeks to change the zoning through a rezoning process. St. David Vision Statement “In the year 2020…the St. David community will reflect a friendly, neighborly, rural character that • provides adequate and high quality drinking water to support its residents, workers and visitors; • is conducive to creating and sustaining friendly and safe neighborhoods; • protects panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains, the “green” vegetation, and the dark night skies; • protects the area’s natural watercourses and canals and the vegetation and wildlife corridors they support; • encourages large lot home sites (one acre or larger) which provide space and openness between structures; • sustains and honors the ranching/farming heritage of the area and promotes efficient and sustainable agricultural practices; and • supports locally owned- and operated small scale, neighborhood-serving businesses. The community will maintain its small scale, quiet, and rural lifestyle while sustaining a safe and stable community characterized by country lifestyles and neighborliness. Schools and churches will continue to serve as community gathering places. New development will be compatible with agriculture, domestic and ranch animals, dark night skies, clean air, and household privacy. Traffic will not overwhelm local roadways and all roads will be pedestrian-, bicycle- and equestrian- friendly. New development proposed as subdivisions, special uses or rezonings will limit impervious surfaces in order to maximize groundwater percolation and minimize storm water run-off. New roads serving such development will meet County standards with regard to width, drainage, and dust control measures and, if paved, will do so in such a way as to reduce St. David Area Plan Adopted December 13, 2005 Resolution 05-96 1 the “heat island” effect. Non-residential development proposed as special uses or in rezonings will be small-scale and neighboring-serving businesses and/or will reflect locally owned agricultural or ranching-related businesses. The current Heavy Industry District is sufficient for the area.” Plan Policies Land Use Policies 1. There should be no rezonings to Heavy Industry and no Comprehensive Plan land use designation amendments to facilitate such a rezoning request. 2. Rezonings or Special Use Permits (SUPs) for commercial use should be limited to the following: 3. 2.1. Rezonings to RU Districts to facilitate a Special Use Permit for an agricultural- or ranch-related service, equipment sales business, or businesses that serve the local area and that fit into the rural character of the vicinity, and/or to facilitate expansion or relocation of these historic and Ag-related or neighborhood-serving businesses. 2.2. Rezonings or SUPs to a Neighborhood Business (NB) zoning district in the Neighborhood Conservation (NC)-designated area to allow small scale, locally owned and operated neighborhood-serving businesses. 2.3. Special Use Permits to facilitate small scale, bed & breakfast lodging that feature farm-, ranch- or eco/environmental viewing-related activities. Legal subdivisions are preferable to lot splitting. 4. All approvals for rezonings to a higher density shall be conditioned with the requirement that new development proceed under the subdivision process. Properties Included Within the Plan Area The St. David Area Plan would affect properties included within the following Township, Range and Sections of the St. David area: TOWNSHIP 17 17 18 18 RANGE 20 21 20 21 SECTIONS 13, 24, 25, 34, 35, 36 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 ,31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, except those portions of Sections 26, 27, 34 and 35 that lie within the Curtis Ranch Master Development Plan (MDP). How the Plan is to be Used The purpose of the proposed St. David Area Plan is to guide future growth and conservation efforts within the Plan Area. The Vision Statement and policies provide direction and guidance on how the community chooses to direct residential and non-residential development, infrastructure, and new building forms in order to sustain and strengthen the natural resources, rural character, privacy and healthy livability of the community. St. David Area Plan Adopted December 13, 2005 Resolution 05-96 2 It is intended that Applicants for subdivisions, rezonings and special use permits will review the Plan’s Vision Statement and Policies prior to designing the site plans for their Project and will address the Vision Statement and its values in the siting of infrastructure, roadways and trails, building sites and building orientation, areas for open space and natural resource conservation and various land uses to insure that their proposals meet the Vision Statement. Applicants who propose Projects that satisfy the land use and design values of the Vision Statement can be expected to be supported in their efforts by the St. David community, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Board of Supervisors. Developers should use the information in this Plan to select appropriate sites for development and to assist in the layout and design of their Projects. Prospective residents can use the Plan to identify the valued resources of the Community and to gain some assurance that these resources would be protected in the future by County staff and legislators. The text of the Countywide Comprehensive Plan identifies land use policies that can be used to measure new development within various parts of the County. An Area Plan, typically, provides a set of policies which can be viewed as a sub-set of the broader Countywide policies and which are deemed more specifically reflective of the local physical environment, its setting, and the values and desires shared by the local community. The polices within this Area Plan are to be used to measure the suitability or appropriateness of a development proposal within the Plan Area. At a minimum, if a proposal meets or satisfies a specific policy of the Area Plan, this would be deemed a factor in favor of approval of the proposal. Conversely, if the proposal did not meet the policies of the Area Plan, it would be deemed by staff to represent a factor against the proposal, or a factor for staff or legislators to create conditions of approval to alter or redesign the proposal to positively address the Plan Vision and policies. _____________________________________________________________________________ St. David Area Plan Adopted December 13, 2005 Resolution 05-96 3